How Are Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Health-Related?

In 2014 while filming for the Nantucket Yoga Festival, Gabrielle Bernstein was the opening night keynote speaker. I had the good fortune of conducting a video interview with her just prior to her taking the podium. She had such a calm presence in person. How are physical, mental, and spiritual health-related?

When Gabby stepped on stage and began to speak it was immediately clear she was a powerhouse. The room fell silent as everyone edged toward the ends of their seats. You could sense the energy amongst all of us anticipating her next words. 

Along my own physical healing journey, I have used spirituality in many ways to get there. And it’s certainly helped with emotional and mental healing as well. You too can achieve spiritual health.

Today you'll learn how spend time channeling your inner spritual being positively affecting many aspects of your life, and learn how to get that Gabby glow from the inside out.

What is Spirituality?

Spirituality can mean different things to different people. Spirituality to me is believing in a higher power, or something greater than oneself, that connects us to one another and the universe. You do not need to be religious in order to be spiritual.

The Physical and Emotional Body Connection 

Connecting your mind and spirit can help with physical healing. Our gut health is a huge component of mental health. The gut signals the brain through the vagus nerve. The gut is also where 90% of our serotonin is produced, which is our happy hormone.

Your gut health being out of alignment can create a negative cascade in the body. Starting with a spiritual practice can begin to activate the parasympathetic nervous system to allow for healing.

Spirituality + Physical Healing 

When you are spiritually healthy in can help your physical health fall into alignment. We live in a world where work is prioritized over rest and many people are living in a constant sympathetic dominant nervous system, which keeps us in a fight or flight. In order for the body to heal, we have to be in a parasympathetic nervous system state.

We cannot simultaneously live in both nervous systems. Healing can only occur in the parasympathetic state. There are many spiritual practices that can get you there.

5 Ways to Improve Spiritual Health to Improve Your Physical + Mental Health 

1 - Start a consistent meditation practice

There is science-based evidence that meditation has many benefits. These include clarity, improved concentration, stress reduction, lengthened attention span, and lowered anger. When starting out, many people find meditation to be challenging, but when done consistently it can become an almost euphoric experience.

If you are new to meditation a great place to begin is with a guided meditation app, or a beginner meditation series like Deepak Chopra's. If you are more advanced and can have a longer meditation attention span, try one of Joe Dispenza's meditations.

2 - Talk Kindly to Yourself and Hold Compassion

There is an immense amount of power in self-talk. All too often we speak down to ourselves. We think things that we would never say aloud to those we care about. Try omitting negative self-talk.

Speak to yourself kindly, as you would speak to a friend, with kindness and compassion.

A great way to start is when you wake up in the morning, try looking into the mirror and saying one thing aloud that you like about yourself. It could be about your physical appearance or a personality attribute.

3 - Start a Gratitude Practice 

Practicing sharing gratitude for things in your life aloud or putting pen to paper can help you connect with your inner spiritual self. It's also calming to the nervous system. An easy way to begin a daily gratitude practice is to list 5 things you are grateful for each morning, which can be done in less than 5 minutes.

4 - Try Energy Work 

There are many modalities where you can work on wellness through spirituality.

"We are all energetic beings. When we focus on raising our vibrational frequency whether through crystal therary, sound healing reiki, mediation, or intention, we not only have the power to heal our deepest wounds, but create and live the life of our dreams, " says healer Skye Besserman of the Nurtured Spirit.

5 - Find What Gives You A Sense of Purpose 

Discovering what gives you purpose in life can be rewarding in several ways. If you are lacking purpose in life it can be difficult to make a deep spiritual connection to the world. You can find this through your work, volunteering, family, or friendships.

The best way to start the process of finding purpose in life is by trying different things.

Your Routine

As you get into trying out these new things, coming up with some sort of short morning routine can be helpful to stick to these new life-changing habits. Afterall, it's the small daily choices that add up to the biggest long term positive changes in your life.

INTEGRATIVE HEALTH COACHING + FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE

Jumpastart your wellness journey today with one-to-one health coaching. Each program is designed uniquely for you, your goals, and how to get to the root cause to reverse the symptoms you may be experiencing. Go at your own pace in order to make sure you have long-term success.